


A Supported Hypothesis

by Thelastvorta



Category: Re-Animator (Movies)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26606722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thelastvorta/pseuds/Thelastvorta
Summary: You were forced to stay at the house when Herbert and Dan went to the hospital. You anxiously waited for them to come back.
Relationships: Herbert West/Reader
Kudos: 17





	A Supported Hypothesis

Your head ached with exhaustion. Your eyes burned with a need for sleep. But your mind was running so rampant in your mind you felt you could outrun a car. Herbert and Dan had still not come back home. You weren’t even completely sure why they had left. They left in such a hurry you barely had time to find out

_As soon as you heard Herbert yelling, you ran to down to the basement._

_“Herbert? What the hell is going on?” You looked around the room to try and find today’s loose corpse. All you saw was a frantic Herbert mumbling to himself while Dan ran past you. You ran to Herbert’s side as he pulled at his hair._

_“My work…that bastard Hill stole my work!” His voice was shaking, you weren’t even sure if he knew you were there._

_“Herb…What are you talking about? What did he take?”_

_“The re-agent…my notes…everything…he’s going to steal my work…I can’t let him steal my work!” Herb jumped up and ran up the stairs, yelling at Dan to get his car keys._

_“Herbert West what the hell is going on?!” He stopped for a moment, turning around as if he only just realised you were there._

_“Hill. He was here. I had to kill him. I tried the re-agent, but it didn’t work as I expected, he knocked me unconscious and he stole all my work. I’m sorry I must get it back. I’ll explain everything later.” Herbert started to run off again._

_“I’m coming with you.” You tried to follow him out the door but were interrupted with him roughly grabbing your shoulders._

_“No! No…you can’t. He’s dangerous. I can’t let you get hurt. We’ll be back soon, I promise. Just please stay here, you’re safe here.” Herbert gave you a weak smile, then ran to the car. Leaving before you had a chance to argue._

It had been a few hours; you weren’t sure how many. Frankly, you didn’t want to. Every second that passed filled you with more dread. At this point you were almost willing to pray to anything that would listen, just to bring them back home.

Dawn was beginning to crack outside. Still no word from Herbert. You pulled at your hair as anxiety wracked through your body.

“Jesus Christ West…” You whispered to yourself. You had never been this scared in your life. You knew Herbert understood what he was doing. You knew he had it under control. But every single time you heard him experimenting you couldn’t help but be frightened. Not of his experiments, not of his findings, but for him.

“ _You saw it Y/N! It was dead! I brought it back to life!” Herbert emphasised, shaking the hand you were trying to bandage._

_“Yes and look at what it did to you! Jesus Christ Herbert if Dan hadn’t come down there that bloody cat could’ve killed you!”_

_“It would’ve been worth it.” You pulled the bandage purposefully tight when he said that, making him wince slightly._

_“Don’t say things like that.” You warned. You moved to try and treat the scratches and bites on his back. The shirt was so torn that you didn’t even need to move it to get to the cuts._

_“Y/N…now you know what I’ve known for a long time. Brain death is irrelevant! We can steal life back from the hands of death himself! Doesn’t this excite you?”_

_“Not if it means you die trying. Herbert, you can’t share your findings if you kill yourself trying to get them.” You rubbed the antiseptic over the cuts, causing him to hiss._

_“You could revive me. You’re smart enough to put the pieces together on your own. Dan…maybe, but he’d take too long.”_

_“Herbert. There are some parts of people I don’t think you can revive.” He turned around to look at you, puzzled. “Turn back around dumbass. I can’t treat it if you’re facing me.” He looked over you once more, then shook his head and turned back. You hoped you hadn’t accidentally told him too much._

You opened your eyes and looked around the living room. You didn’t remember falling asleep, you didn’t even know how long you would’ve been sleeping. You called out your roommate’s names, to no response. Your fears getting the better of you, you walked out onto the front deck. In the distance, you saw somebody. They were limping and holding their side. Your heart started to beat out of your chest. As they got closer, you saw them move their hand up to adjust their glasses.

Herbert.

Tears started to run down your face as your fear finally gave way to relief.

“Herbert!” You screamed. He stopped and looked up at the house. You sprinted from the door, not caring about how the ground hurt your bare feet. As soon as you reach him you threw your arms around his neck dragged him into a tight embrace. He was shocked for a moment, before slowly placing his arms around you, returning the hug. You cried into his shoulder, pulling him in tighter.

“Careful…” he winced. “I think some of my ribs are broken.” You pulled back and looked at him, covered in blood and bruises, with a burn on his forehead.

“Jesus Herb…what the hell happened to you?!” You whispered at him furiously as you ran your hands over the side of his face.

“Can we go inside first, please? I need help getting in the door.” You moved to his side as you carefully helped him inside.

You brought the blanket from your bed to the living room and wrapped it around Herbert. He nodded his thanks before trying his best to find a comfortable position on the couch. You felt around his ribs, doing your best to check for any breaks or fractures.

“Well, I can’t tell you much without an x-ray. But I can’t feel any major breaks or displacements, so that’s good.” You looked over his face. His eyes were sunken behind his glasses, purple and blue bruising starting to appear around his neck and mouth. His shirt was soaked in blood, you weren’t sure if it was his. “Please Herb…what happened?”

He sighed as he began explaining everything that happened since Hill came into his lab. He explained why he had to kill him, why he tried to reanimate him, and everything that happened while he was at the hospital. How he didn’t know where Dan was, or if he’d gotten his notes out. When he finished explaining, you were in shock. You put your hand over your mouth to try and contain the sob that was trying to tear through you, but it wasn’t enough. You couldn’t stop it. You sobbed loudly and looked away from Herbert. He looked alarmed, he had expected anger or an immediate hatred to ensue once he told you, but here you were, crying. No matter what he did, he couldn’t rationalise your reaction.

“Y/N?” He whispered.

“I could’ve lost you…” Was all you could choke out. Suddenly, everything came crashing into place in Herbert’s mind. He dared to hold onto hope, the least scientific thing he could have ever done, and he knew it.

“Y/N…why did you try to come with me? You had no idea what you would be walking into. I hadn’t told you anything.”

You looked back at him; his eyes were analysing every inch of your face as if you were a hypothesis he was testing. You sighed; you couldn’t find the strength to keep it secret anymore. Not after almost losing him. “If I was with you, I could’ve stopped you from getting hurt. Every time you go down into the basement, I get scared that you won’t come back out.” Your voice shook as you tried to convert your thoughts into words. His eyes didn’t leave yours. “I could never stop you from your work and I would never want to. I know how important it is to you but…god damnit Herbert. Ever since the god damn cat, I can’t sleep when you’re down there. I sit up and I wait to hear something go wrong. I wait to hear you yelling for Dan and then I wait to hear you rattle on about the malfunction’s significance in your studies just so I know you are alive! I sit outside the basement door so I can run down to you if you need me and-“ You were cut off by Herbert gently brushing his hand down the side of your face. He moved a stray piece of hair behind your ear as he looked at you.

“Your face is flushed.” He whispered. “your body temperature has increased, and your pupils have dilated…” his hand rested on your cheek. “I must have been blind not to notice it earlier. You’re infatuated…” he slowly leant forward. You hadn’t even noticed how close you were sitting until now. He looked down at your lips and then back up at your eyes before speaking again. “You’re infatuated…with me?” He was trying to seem sure of his analysis, but the inclination at the end of his statement gave away his uncertainty. You knew he wouldn’t continue until he was certain, so you erased his uncertainty by closing the gap between the two of you and gently placing your lips on his. His other hand reached up and grabbed the other side of your face to bring you closer to him. You suddenly became a drug to him, he wanted everything you could give him in that moment. You pulled away when he winced slightly. You had almost completely forgotten how injured he was.

“Oh god, I’m sorry Herbert, are you alright?!” You tried to move away from him, but he wouldn’t let you go.

“I don’t care about my ribs. Kiss me again.” He pleaded.

You happily, but carefully, obliged.


End file.
